Top Five Favorite Vacation Spots

Summer is the time when most people go on vacation and spend time with their family.  But some families might have a hard time choosing where to go.  Here’s a list of my top five vacation spots from sunny hot beaches to chilly mountains.

1. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, at the Hard Rock Hotel is my families and I’s favorite vacation spot of all time.  It takes about three and a half hours to fly there from KS and it’s located on the coast of Mexico.  Puerto Vallarta is toasty, even when it’s only 80 degrees the humidity makes it feel like 100 degrees!  Hard Rock Hotel is placed right next to a  beautiful beach that glistens when the sun starts to set.  The food and drinks are all inclusive, so you don’t have to worry about paying for each dinner.  There are multiple pools that aren’t freezing and fun to swim in.  The hotel can schedule activities such as ziplining, swimming with dolphins, going to the spa, riding a boat to Las Caletas and spending a day down their, and much more.  The last best feature of Hard Rock Hotel in Puerto Vallarta is, every night there’s a wonderful show that is included.

2. Branson, Missouri

My second favorite spot is Branson, Missouri.  Branson, Missouri, is only a five to six-hour drive from Emporia, Kansas.  When we drive down there we usually stay in a Cozy Cabin.  Around Branson there are many places to rent a cabin.  If you want to go to Branson go during summer because during winter, fall, and spring most of the attractions are closed during the winter.  White Water is a really enjoyable,  there are many different slides and pools.  There’s a really cool wax museum with many famous actors and actresses.  Also, there’s a Silver Dollar City, which is an amusement park.  Branson has many pleasing restaurants that don’t burn a hole in your wallet.  Branson is night and day from Mexico, Branson has go carts, amusement parks, water parks, museums while Mexico has mostly peaceful activities!  

3. Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

My third favorite vacation spot is Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  It took about 16 hours to drive from Emporia, Kansas, to Pigeon Forge.  Pigeon Forge is basically like Branson but it has even more stuff to do.  While we were in Tennessee we did everything we did in Branson but more.  Pigeon Forge has a lot of big tall trees everywhere.  During that week we went to a mountain coaster (roller coaster in a mountain), the Titanic, downtown, mouth watering restaurants, and the Dixie Stampede.  All of these activities were really fun.  

4. Ocho Rios, Jamaica

This paragraph might be a little shorter because Ocho Rios, Jamaica, was apart of a cruise, so my family was only there for a day.  Ochos Rios, Jamaica, is located in between Cuba and Puerto Rico.  When we were there, we climbed a waterfall (not a steep waterfall), went to this restaurant with a pool, went to downtown Ocho Rios, and there are many little shops set up and one of my favorites was the braiding station.  That’s all we could fit in a day.

5. Colorado Springs, Colorado

Last summer my family took a trip to Colorado Springs.  If you wanted to, you could drive there in about nine or so hours from Emporia, but it’s far enough, you could fly on a plane. This was totally different than any other trips we have taken so I was a bit skeptical, but in the end I was glad we went.  At Colorado Springs, we went White Water rafting, a train up the Pikes Peak, walked around downtown, went on a tour through the Olympic training building, and traveled a cave.  All of those things were really fun and any person any age can do them, well except for white water rafting.  Even though this was the last on my list it was still a really fun.     

In conclusion any of these would be a great choice for your summer vacation.  None of these places are risky and you should not worry about your life.  But if you want a warm, peaceful, and relaxing place I would say Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is the best option from personal experience.